Agent, Suspect Wounded During Shootout at Park

A drug bust erupted into gunfire Thursday night at Golden Hill Park, leaving a federal agent hospitalized and his assailant in serious condition with wounds to the neck and leg.

Two other men were arrested during the alleged drug deal and shooting, which surprised and startled park visitors.

The incident occurred about 6 p.m. when Tony Campbell, an undercover Drug Enforcement Agent, exchanged money for 20 ounces of heroin allegedly sold by Miguel Angel Flores-Palbar, 21, and Jesus Alberto Gutierrez-Corrales, 29, both of Culiacan, Mexico.

Campbell, working with a multiagency anti-drug task force, then gave the arrest signal to his colleagues, according to Charles Hill, special agent-in-charge of the DEA’s San Diego office. But a lookout for the alleged drug dealers, Luciano Pulido-Barela, believed to be 36, saw what was happening, pulled out a .45-caliber handgun and, according to Hill, shot Campbell in the chest from 15 to 20 feet away.

The bullet, however, was deflected by Campbell’s bulletproof vest. Knocked down by the impact, Campbell got up and began chasing Pulido through the park, which is located at 25th and A streets. He was joined by other agents of the task force, made up of DEA, U.S. Customs, Border Patrol and California Highway Patrol officers, Hill said.

Several bystanders in the park witnessed the chase, and their presence caused the agents to withhold their gunfire, Hill said, but Pulido continued firing at the officers as he fled. When they were clear of the park-goers, the agents fired at Pulido, hitting him in the neck and leg.